Optimization potentials for the absorber and the generator of an ammonia-water absorption heat pump

Abstract

Experimental investigations to identify optimization potentials of an ammonia-water absorption heat pump are performed. In this heat pump, both the absorber and the generator are designed as plate heat exchangers. At the inlet of the absorber, the weak solution is sprayed through a nozzle into the refrigerant vapor, thus creating a high surface for the mass transfer. The advantages of this system are a compact design and a low refrigerant filling quantity. The aim of these investigations is to identify and classify optimization potentials in heat and mass transfer in the absorber and generator. The potentials in heat transfer are determined using calculated temperature profiles. For an analysis of the mass transfer, the ammonia mass fractions of the strong and the weak solution are calculated with measured densities. By comparison with the theoretically possible ammonia mass fractions, a classification in the areas of heat or mass transfer is carried out for further optimization.